The present invention relates generally to a carrier for microelectronic devices and, more particularly, to an electronic package assembly in which the carrier provides electrical connection between a microcircuit chip mounted in the carrier and the leads of a DIP and the contacts of a DIP adapter.
DIP packages comprise a fairly standardized means of packaging circuit elements which consist of anything from a plurality of discrete circuit components to a large scale integrated circuit chip. The DIP may consist of a main body having two rows of pins or leads extending from the sides thereof and bent downwardly. In some applications, the DIP is mounted directly upon a printed circuit board with its leads extending through plated-through holes in the board. In other applications, the leads of the DIP extend into socket contacts in a DIP adapter or socket. The contacts of the adapter embody tails or posts which are mounted in the holes in the printed circuit board. There is a need for attaching additional electronic components to DIP circuits and printed circuit board conductors. This normally requires that the boards be made larger and more complex. Furthermore, it is difficult, if not impractical, to change the circuits between the DIPs and the board.
The following is a list of U.S. Pat. Nos. which disclose a variety of DIP adapters: 3,846,734; 3,854,788; 3,880,493; 3,989,331 and 4,060,296.
It is the object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned limitations of electronic packaging arrangements by providing means for easily adding or removing microelectronic devices to the DIP-printed circuit board couple.